Format-dynamic string processing in group-based communication systems

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products that enable performing format-dynamic string processing in a group-based communication system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/659,274, filed on Oct. 21, 2019, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

String processing is central to operational effectiveness of varioussoftware applications, such as various communication softwareapplications. Applicant has identified several deficiencies and problemsassociated with string processing in existing software applications.Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of theseidentified problems have been solved by developing solutions that areincluded in embodiments of the present disclosure, many examples ofwhich are described in detail herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to performing format-dynamicstring processing in a group-based communication system. The group-basedcommunication system includes a group-based communication server, agroup-based communication repository, and a plurality of group-basedcommunication channels.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus forperforming format-dynamic string processing in a group-basedcommunication system is disclosed. The disclosed apparatus comprises atleast one processor and at least one memory including computer programcode. The memory and the computer program code are configured to, withthe processor, cause the apparatus to perform operations configured toreceive, from a source client device associated with the communicationsystem, an input string, wherein the string input is associated with astructured format; determine whether the structured format is auniversal format of one or more universal formats associated with thecommunication system or a non-universal format of one or morenon-universal formats associated with the communication system; and inresponse to determining that the structured format is a non-universalformat of the one or more non-universal formats, generate, based on theinput string, one or more fallback data objects associated with theinput string, wherein each of the one or more fallbacks is associatedwith a respective universal format of at least one of the one or moreuniversal formats; generate a composite data object based on the inputstring and each of the one or more fallback data objects; and transmitthe composite data object to each destination client device of one ormore destination client devices.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer programcode are further configured to, with the at least one processor, causethe apparatus to, in response to determining that the structured formatis a universal format of the one or more universal formats, transmittingthe input string to each destination client device of one or moredestination client devices. In some embodiments, the one or morenon-universal formats comprise a serialization-based structured format.In some embodiments, the serialization-based structured format is a RichStructured format (RTF) structured format. In some embodiments, thecommunication system is a group-based communication system.

In some embodiments, the one or more universal formats and the one ormore non-universal formats are defined with respect to a structuredformat integration procedure, the structured format integrationprocedure comprises a plurality of software update releases associatedwith the communication system, the plurality of software update releasescomprises one or more display-related update releases and one or morecomposition-related update releases, and the one or more display-relatedupdate releases are performed prior to the one or morecomposition-related update releases. In some embodiments, the computerprogram code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theapparatus to identify the one or more non-universal formats and the oneor more non-universal formats, wherein identifying the one or moreuniversal formats and the one or more non-universal formats comprises,for each supported structured format associated with the communicationsystem, determining an integration ratio associated with the supportedstructured format, determining whether the integration ratio satisfiesone or more integration threshold criteria, in response to determiningthat the integration ratio satisfies the one or more integrationthreshold criteria, determining that the supported structured format isa universal format of the one or more universal formats, and in responseto determining that the integration ratio fails to satisfy the one ormore integration threshold criteria, determining that the supportedstructured format is a non-universal format of the one or morenon-universal formats. In some embodiments, the integration ratio forthe supported structured format is determined based on an updated deviceratio for a software update release associated with the supportedstructured format. In some embodiments, the structured format indicatesone or more presentation feature encoding protocols associated with theinput string.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the disclosure in general terms, reference willnow be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarilydrawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an example architecture for implementing some embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary apparatus for a group-based communicationserver according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary apparatus for a client computing deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram of an example process for performingformat dynamic in a group-based communication system according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an operational example of a marked-up input string accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an operational example of a feature definition file associatedwith a serialization-based structured format according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an operational example of a displayed text interface accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a transmission flow diagram of an example process forfacilitating formatted data transmission between an updated clientdevice and a non-updated client device according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart diagram of an example process for identifyinguniversality of supported structured formats according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, thedisclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. The term “or” is used herein in both the alternativeand conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms“illustrative” and “exemplary” are used to be examples with noindication of quality level. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

Definitions

As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “digital content,” “digitalcontent object,” “information,” and similar terms may be usedinterchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received,and/or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit andscope of embodiments of the present invention. Further, where acomputing device is described herein to receive data from anothercomputing device, it will be appreciated that the data may be receiveddirectly from another computing device or may be received indirectly viaone or more intermediary computing devices, such as, for example, one ormore servers, relays, routers, network access points, base stations,hosts, and/or the like, sometimes referred to herein as a “network.”Similarly, where a computing device is described herein to send data toanother computing device, it will be appreciated that the data may besent directly to another computing device or may be sent indirectly viaone or more intermediary computing devices, such as, for example, one ormore servers, relays, routers, network access points, base stations,hosts, and/or the like.

The terms “computer-readable storage medium” refers to a non-transitory,physical or tangible storage medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatilememory), which may be differentiated from a “computer-readabletransmission medium,” which refers to an electromagnetic signal.

The term “client device” refers to computer hardware and/or softwarethat is configured to access a service made available by a server. Theserver is often (but not always) on another computer system, in whichcase the client device accesses the service by way of a network. Clientdevices may include, without limitation, smart phones, tablet computers,laptop computers, wearables, personal computers, enterprise computers,and the like.

“Group-based” is used herein to refer to a system, channel, message, orvirtual environment that has security sufficient such that it isaccessible only to a defined group of users. The group may be defined bycommon access credentials such as those of an organization or commercialenterprise. Access may further be facilitated by a validated request tojoin or an invitation to join transmitted by one group member user toanother non-member user. Group identifiers (defined below) are used toassociate data, information, messages, etc., with specific groups.

The term “group-based communication platform” refers to a collection ofcomputing services that are accessible to one or more client devices,and that are operable to provide access to a plurality of softwareapplications related to operations of databases. In some examples, thegroup-based communication platform may take the form of one or morecentral servers disposed in communication with one or more additionalservers running software applications, and having access to one or moredatabases storing digital content items, application-related data,and/or the like. The group-based communication platform may also supportclient retention settings and other compliance aspects. Further, thegroup-based communication platform may provide comprehensive third-partydeveloper support that grants appropriate access to the data and allowsthird parties to build applications and bots to integrate withcustomer's workflows.

The term “group-based communication channel” refers to a virtualcommunications environment or feed that is configured to displaymessaging communications posted by channel members (e.g., validatedusers accessing the environment using client devices) that are viewableonly to the members of the group. The format of the group-basedcommunication channel may appear differently to different members of thegroup-based communication channel; however, the content of thegroup-based communication channel (i.e., messaging communications) willbe displayed to each member of the group-based communication channel.For instance, a common set of group-based messaging communications willbe displayed to each member of the respective group-based communicationchannel such that the content of the group-based communication channel(i.e., messaging communications) will not vary per member of thegroup-based communication channel.

The term “group-based communication channel data” refers to data itemsassociated with communications between, and files shared by, channelmembers of a group-based communication channel.

The term “user” should be understood to refer to an individual, group ofindividuals, business, organization, and the like; the users referred toherein are accessing a group-based communication or messaging systemusing client devices.

The terms “user profile,” “user account,” and “user account details”refer to information associated with a user, including, for example, auser identifier, one or more group-based communication channelidentifiers associated with group-based communication channels that theuser has been granted access to, one or more group identifiers forgroups with which the user is associated, an indication as to whetherthe user is an owner of any group-based communication channels, anindication as to whether the user has any group-based communicationchannel restrictions, a plurality of messages, a plurality of emojis, aplurality of conversations, a plurality of conversation topics, anavatar, an email address, a real name (e.g., John Doe), a username(e.g., jdoe), a password, a real name, a time zone, a status, and thelike. The user account details can include a subset designation of usercredentials, such as, for example, login information for the userincluding the user's username and password.

The terms “group-based communication channel identifier” or “channelidentifier” refer to one or more items of data by which a group-basedcommunication channel may be identified. For example, a group-basedcommunication channel identifier may comprise American Standard Code forInformation Interchange (ASCII) text, a pointer, a memory address, andthe like.

As used herein, the terms “messaging communication” and “message” referto any electronically generated digital content object provided by auser using a client device and that is configured for display within agroup-based communication channel. Message communications may includeany text, image, video, audio or combination thereof provided by a user(using a client device). For instance, the user may provide a messagingcommunication that includes text as well as an image and a video withinthe messaging communication as message contents. In such a case, thetext, image, and video would comprise the messaging communication ordigital content object. Each message sent or posted to a group-basedcommunication channel of the group-based communication system includesmetadata comprising the following: a sending user identifier, a messageidentifier, message contents, a group identifier, and a group-basedcommunication channel identifier. Each of the foregoing identifiers maycomprise ASCII text, a pointer, a memory address, and the like.

The term “message communication data” refers to messages exchanged(direct messages (DMs) (e.g., messages sent by users directly to eachother instead of through channels), reply messages, forwarded messages,etc.) between an apparatus (e.g., a client device) associated with auser account of a user and one or more other users of the group-basedcommunication platform.

Group-based communication system users are organized into organizationgroups (e.g., employees of each company may be a separate organizationgroup) and each organization group may have one or more group-basedcommunication channels (explained below) to which users may be assignedor which the users may join (e.g., group-based communication channelsmay represent departments, geographic locations such as offices, productlines, user interests, topics, issues, and/or the like). A groupidentifier may be used to facilitate access control for a message (e.g.,access to the message, such as having the message return as part ofsearch results in response to a search query, may be restricted to thoseusers having the group identifier associated with their user profile).The group identifier may be used to determine context for the message(e.g., a description of the group, such as the name of an organizationand/or a brief description of the organization, may be associated withthe group identifier).

Group-based communication system users may join group-basedcommunication channels. Some group-based communication channels may beglobally accessible to those users having a particular organizationalgroup identifier associated with their user profile (i.e., users who aremembers of the organization). Access to some group-based communicationchannels may be restricted to members of specified groups, whereby thegroup-based communication channels are accessible to those users havinga particular group identifier associated with their user profile. Thegroup-based communication channel identifier may be used to facilitateaccess control for a message (e.g., access to the message, such ashaving the message return as part of search results in response to asearch query, may be restricted to those users having the group-basedcommunication channel identifier associated with their user profile, orwho have the ability to join the group-based communication channel). Thegroup-based communication channel identifier may be used to determinecontext for the message (e.g., a description of the group-basedcommunication channel, such as a description of a project discussed inthe group-based communication channel, may be associated with thegroup-based communication channel identifier).

The term “format-dynamic message processing” refers to a set ofcomputer-implemented routines that enable modifying a structured formatof an input string in accordance with applicable software and/orhardware capabilities of one or more recipient client devices associatedwith the input string. For example, with respect to an input stringassociated with a messaging communication, format-dynamic stringprocessing may include, in response to determining that a structuredformat of an input string is a non-universal format, generating afallback data object for the input string that includes content dataassociated with the input string formatted in accordance with one ormore universal formats. As another example, format-dynamic stringprocessing may include determining which structured formats are deemeduniversal and which structured formats are deemed non-universal based onend-user adoption data associated with multiple supported structuredformats.

The term “input string” refers to data that includes encodings of a setof characters as well as any formatting data associated with the set ofcharacters. The encoded data associated with an input string may in turninclude content data associated with an input string and formatting dataassociated with an input string. Content data associated with themessage communication may include data encoded using one or more textencoding protocols, such as using an American Standard Code forInformation Interchange (ASCII) text encoding protocol or a Unicode textencoding protocol. Format data associated with an input string mayinclude data encoded using one or more text feature encoding protocols,such as one or more presentation feature encoding protocols.

The term “source client device” refers to a client device that transmitsan input string to a communication server (e.g., a group-basedcommunication server), where the communication server is configured totransmit (e.g., forward) the input string received from the sourceclient device to one or more destination client devices. For example,the source client device may be configured to transmit TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP) packets that contain a message communication andthe associated message communication data to the communication server,where the communication server is configured to transmit the messagecommunication to one or more destination client devices associated withrecipient user profiles identified via the message communication dataand based on transmission guidelines identified via the messagecommunication data. In some embodiments, a source client device is acomputing device that enables a user profile of a communication system(e.g., a group-based communication system) to communicate with thecommunicate system and with other user profiles of the communicationsystem via one or more communication interfaces of the communicationsystem.

The term “destination client device” refers to a client device thatreceives an input string from a communication server, where the inputstring originates from one or more source client devices. Examples ofinput strings transmitted between source client devices and destinationclient devices may include input strings embedded within TCP packets. Insome embodiments, a destination client device is a computing deviceconfigured to enable a user profile of a communication system (e.g., agroup-based communication system) to communicate with the communicatesystem and with other user profiles of the communication system via oneor more communication interfaces of the communication system.

The term “structured format” refers to data that defines featureencoding protocols for defining various features associated with inputstrings. In some embodiments, a structured format may define protocolsfor defining and encoding presentation-related features strings. Forexample, a particular structured format may define markup commands that,when embedded within input strings, enable presentation of particularvisualization effects (e.g., bolding visualization effects,italicization visualization effects, underlining visualization effects,color modification visualization effects, size enhancement visualizationeffects, etc.) with respect to the input strings. As another example, aparticular structured format may define serialization commands that,when embedded within format definition data objects associated withinput strings, enable presentation of particular visualization effectswith respect to the input strings. In some embodiments, a structuredformat may define protocols for defining non-presentation-relatedfeatures for input strings in addition to presentation-related featuresfor input strings, such as transmission-related features for inputstrings, security-related features for input strings, privacy-relatedfeatures for input strings, etc.

The term “presentation feature encoding protocol” refers to data thatdefines guidelines for defining presentation-related features for inputstrings. Examples of presentation feature encoding protocols includemarkup-based feature encoding protocols and serialization-based featureencoding protocols, as further described below. In some embodiments,presentation-related features for input strings include visualizationeffects that affect a manner of display of at least a portion of theinput strings. Examples of visualization effects include boldingvisualization effects, italicization visualization effects, underliningvisualization effects, color modification visualization effects, sizeenhancement visualization effects, etc.

The term “universal format” refers to a structured format determinedand/or estimated to have an optimal degree of adoption by user profilesof a communication environment characterized by one or morecommunication systems. For example, a universal format for a group-basedcommunication system may be a structured format that has been estimatedand/or detected to be installed by a threshold share of end users of thegroup-based communication system. As another example, a universal formatfor a group-based communication system may be a structured format thathas been estimated and/or detected to be used at least once by athreshold share of end users of the group-based communication system. Asyet another example, a universal format for a group-based communicationsystem may be a structured format that has been estimated and/ordetected to be used on a frequent basis by a threshold share of endusers of the group-based communication system. As a further example, auniversal format for a group-based communication system may be astructured format that has been released before a particular thresholdtime interval.

The term “non-universal format” refers to a structured format determinedand/or estimated to have a suboptimal degree of adoption by userprofiles of a communication environment characterized by one or morecommunication systems. For example, a non-universal format for agroup-based communication system may be a structured format that hasbeen estimated and/or detected to be installed by less than a thresholdshare of end users of the group-based communication system. As anotherexample, a non-universal format for a group-based communication systemmay be a structured format that has been estimated and/or detected to beused at least once by less than a threshold share of end users of thegroup-based communication system. As yet another example, anon-universal format for a group-based communication system may be astructured format that has been estimated and/or detected to be used ona frequent basis by less than a threshold share of end users of thegroup-based communication system. As a further example, a non-universalformat for a group-based communication system may be a structured formatthat has been released during a particular threshold time interval.

The term “fallback data object” refers to a data object that includesformatting data associated with an input string originally formatted inaccordance with a non-universal format, where the formatting data in thefallback data object are generated based on a universal formatassociated with the fallback data object. In some embodiments, inresponse to determining that an input string is associated with anon-universal format, a computer system may generate a fallback dataobject that includes contents of the input string but integratesformatting data associated with the input string generated using auniversal format. In some embodiments, the computer system generates thefallback data object as a data object configured to be integrated into aportion of payload of a TCP packet.

The term “composite data object” refers to a data object that includesat least one input string and at least one fallback data object. In someembodiments, the composite data object is configured to be transmittedto one or more destination client devices. In some embodiments, thecomposite data object is configured to be integrated into payload of aTCP packet. In some embodiments, the composite data object includesmarkers that indicate which portions of the composite data objectinclude particular input strings and which portions of the compositedata object include particular fallback data object. For example, aparticular marker may indicate that a particular portion of a particularcomposite data object include data associated with a Rich Text Format(RTF) fallback data object.

The term “markup-based structured format” refers to a structured formatthat enables defining input string features by integrating in-linesymbols within input strings. For example, a particular markup-basedstructured format may be characterized by a functionality that enablesmarking a particular input string data portion as italicized by puttingparticular alphanumeric character patterns immediately before and afterthe particular input string data portion.

The term “serialization-based structured format” refers to a structuredformat that enables defining input string features by supplyingfeature-definition instructions within feature definition filesassociated with the input string. For example, a particularserialization-based structured format may enable defining visualizationfeatures of input string data portions through generating feature arraysassociated with input string data portions (e.g., a feature array inwhich one feature value represents whether the corresponding inputstring data portion should be italicized, another feature valuerepresents whether the corresponding input string data portion should bebolded, another feature value represents a desired size of the inputstring data portion, etc.). An example of a serialization-basedstructured format is RTF.

The term “structured format integration procedure” refers to a set ofcomputer routines configured to perform software update releases thateach include at least one aspect of the functionality of a correspondingstructured format, such as at least one of a display-relatedfunctionality of the corresponding structured format and acomposition-related functionality of a corresponding structured format.For example, a particular structured format integration procedure mayinclude releasing a first software update that includes functionalitiesrelated to displaying visual features encoded using a correspondingstructured format (i.e., performing a display-related release) beforereleasing a second software update that includes related to compositinginput strings whose formatting data is encoded using the correspondingstructured format (i.e., performing a composition-related release). Asanother example, the particular structured format integration proceduremay include releasing performing a display-related release and acomposition-related release as part of the same software update release.

The term “integration ratio” refers to data that describes an estimatedshare of user profiles and/or sufficiently active user profiles acommunication system that have integrated functionalities associatedwith at least one of composing text using the supported structuredformat and displaying messages associated with the supported textformat. In some embodiments, the integration ratio for a supportedstructured format is determined based on a share of user profiles of thecommunication system deemed, estimated, and/or detected to have updatedtheir client-side communication system software applications tointegrate functionalities related to at least one of composing textusing the supported structured format and displaying messages associatedwith the supported structured format (i.e., based on an updated deviceratio associated with the corresponding supported structured format).

The term “integration threshold criteria” refers to data that define alevel of integration ratio whose achievement by a supported structuredformat suggests near-universal adaptation of a corresponding supportedstructured format by user profiles and/or sufficiently active userprofiles of a communication system. For example, a particularintegration threshold criterion may define that any supported structuredformat adopted by eighty percent of user profiles of a communicationsystem should be deemed to be a universal format.

Overview

Various embodiments of the present disclosure address technicalchallenges related to efficiency and reliability of string processing incommunication systems, especially with respect to performing stringprocessing with respect to performing string processing in broadcastcommunication contexts. String data transmitted in communication systemstypically include formatting data that define various properties ofencoded alphanumeric data included in input strings. Such formattingdata are encoded using particular structured formats that defineprotocols for encoding formatting features related to input strings. Thediversity of structured formats can create challenges for communicationsystems because different client-side communication system softwareapplications may be capable of decoding and interpreting differentstructured formats.

For example, a recent software update release of a client-sidecommunication system software application may enable user profiles todisplay and/or compose text data formatted using RTF, but not all clientdevices might have successfully downloaded and installed the recentsoftware update release. As a result, some user profiles may be able toinput string data formatted in accordance with structured formats thatcannot be decoded by client-side communication system softwareapplications of other user profiles. The resulting interoperabilitychallenges may create a huge disincentive against deploying newstructured formats in software update releases despite efficiency,reliability, and user-friendliness of the noted new structured formats.

Moreover, the described interoperability challenges associated with thediversity of structured formats across various client devices may forcecommunication system servers to perform complex and computationallyintensive operations intended to enable a reliable degree of stringformat interoperability across diverse formatting regimes. In oneexample, the communication servers may be forced to maintain substantialamounts of data about string formatting capabilities of various clientdevices and perform complex format conversion operations to accommodatethe formatting requirements of the various client devices. Suchdata-intensive and computationally costly operations are even morecritical and detrimental for communication systems that perform aconsiderable amount of broadcast operations, such as group-basedcommunication systems that transmit group-based communication messagesto entire sets of user profiles associated with particular group-basedcommunication channels and/or various group-based communicationinterfaces. In the broadcast communication context, communication systemservers often resort retrieving substantial amounts of configurationdata for a large number of associated destination client devices andperforming a substantial number of computationally costly formatconversion routines.

To address the described technical challenges related to efficiency andreliability of string processing in communication systems, variousembodiments of the present disclosure introduce concepts that enableformat-dynamic string processing in communication systems. For example,in some embodiments, a communication system server determines astructured format associated with a string input, determines whether thestructured format is a universal format of one or more universal formatsassociated with the communication system or a non-universal format ofone or more non-universal formats associated with the communicationsystem. In response to determining that the structured format is anon-universal format of the one or more non-universal formats, thegenerates, based on the input string, one or more fallback data objectsassociated with the input string, wherein each of the one or morefallbacks is associated with a respective universal format of at leastone of the one or more universal formats; generates a composite dataobject based on the input string and each of the one or more fallbackdata objects; and transmits the composite data object to eachdestination client device of one or more destination client devices.

Through utilizing the above-described format-dynamic string processingconcepts and similar concepts described herein, various embodiments ofthe present disclosure perform inter-format string processing through anumber of computationally efficient operations based on predefinedformat generation models. This has many technical advantages overexisting string processing solutions. For example, by performing formatmodifications only when an input string has a non-universal format, theintroduced techniques reduce the need for performing format processingto only those instances where structured formats having limitedcross-user adaption are used in input strings. In addition, byperforming format modifications based on universality of utilizedstructured formats as opposed to data about formatting capabilities ofindividual client devices, the introduced techniques can eliminate thestorage costs associated with maintaining formatting capability recordsas well as the processing costs associated with monitoring client deviceformatting capabilities. Furthermore, by generating composite messagesthat are deemed interpretable by all client devices associated with acommunication system, the introduced techniques can eliminate the needfor generating recipient-specific message objects and thus greatlyreduce computational complexity and storage costs associated withperforming broadcast operations in communication systems. Moreover, byproviding techniques for performing efficient and reliable formatadjustment in communication systems, the introduced solutions enhancethe capability of communication systems to provide rich text editingexperiences and thus facilitate adoption of such communication systemsin enterprise applications and business solutions.

Example System Architecture

Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products of the presentdisclosure may be embodied by any of a variety of devices. For example,the method, apparatus, and computer program product of an exampleembodiment may be embodied by a networked device (e.g., an enterpriseplatform), such as a server or other network entity, configured tocommunicate with one or more devices, such as one or more clientcomputing devices. Additionally or alternatively, the computing devicemay include fixed computing devices, such as a personal computer or acomputer workstation. Still further, example embodiments may be embodiedby any of a variety of mobile devices, such as a portable digitalassistant (PDA), mobile telephone, smartphone, laptop computer, tabletcomputer, wearable, or any combination of the aforementioned devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture 100 for performing variousembodiments of the present disclosure may operate. Users may access agroup-based communication system 105 via a communications network (notshown) using one or more client computing devices, such as clientcomputing devices 102A-102F. The group-based communication system 105may comprise a group-based communication server 106 in communicationwith at least one group-based communication repository 107.

Communications network may include any wired or wireless communicationnetwork including, for example, a wired or wireless local area network(LAN), personal area network (PAN), metropolitan area network (MAN),wide area network (WAN), or the like, as well as any hardware, softwareand/or firmware required to implement it (such as, e.g., networkrouters, etc.). For example, communications network 104 may include acellular telephone, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, and/or WiMax network.Further, the communications network may include a public network, suchas the Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or combinationsthereof, and may utilize a variety of networking protocols now availableor later developed including, but not limited to TCP/IP based networkingprotocols. For instance, the networking protocol may be customized tosuit the needs of the group-based communication system. In someembodiments, the protocol is a custom protocol of JSON objects sent viaa Websocket channel. In some embodiments, the protocol is JSON over RPC(“remote procedural call), JSON over REST (“Representational StateTransfer”)/HTTP (“HyperText Transfer Protocol”), and the like.

The client devices 102A-102F may enable user profiles of the group-basedcommunication system 105 to utilize one or more functionalities providedby the group-based communication system 105, such as one or more stringprocessing functionalities provided by the group-based communicationsystem 105. Each client device 102A-F maintain a local client-sidegroup-based communication application associated with the group-basedcommunication system 105. The client devices 102A-102F may includeupdated client devices 102A-C whose corresponding local client-sidegroup-based communication software applications include functionalitiesrelated to both universal structured formats associated with thegroup-based communication system 105 and non-universal structuredformats associated with the group-based communication system 105, andupdated client devices 102D-F whose corresponding local client-sidegroup-based communication software applications include functionalitiesrelated only to non-universal structured formats associated with thegroup-based communication system.

The group-based communication server 106 may be embodied as a computeror computers. The group-based communication server 106 may provide forreceiving of electronic data from various sources, including but notnecessarily limited to the client computing devices 102A-102F. Forexample, the group-based communication server 106 may be operable toreceive and post or transmit group-based messaging communicationsprovided by the client computing devices 102A-102F.

The group-based communication repository 107 may be embodied as a datastorage device such as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device ordevices, or as a separate database server or servers. The group-basedcommunication repository 107 includes information accessed and stored bythe group-based communication server 106 to facilitate the operations ofthe group-based communication system 105. For example, the group-basedcommunication repository 107 may include, without limitation, aplurality of messaging communications organized among a plurality ofgroup-based communication channels, and/or the like.

The client computing devices 102A-102F may be any computing device asdefined above. Electronic data received by the group-based communicationserver 106 from the client computing devices 102A-102F may be providedin various forms and via various methods. For example, the clientcomputing devices 102A-102F may include desktop computers, laptopcomputers, smartphones, netbooks, tablet computers, wearables, and thelike. In embodiments where a client computing device 102A-102F is amobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, the client computingdevice 102A-102F may execute an “app” to interact with the group-basedcommunication system 105. Such apps are typically designed to execute onmobile devices, such as tablets or smartphones. For example, an app maybe provided that executes on mobile device operating systems such asiOS®, Android®, or Windows®. These platforms typically provideframeworks that allow apps to communicate with one another and withparticular hardware and software components of mobile devices. Forexample, the mobile operating systems named above each provideframeworks for interacting with location services circuitry, wired andwireless network interfaces, user contacts, and other applications.Communication with hardware and software modules executing outside ofthe app is typically provided via application programming interfaces(APIs) provided by the mobile device operating system. Additionally oralternatively, the client computing device 102A-F may interact with thegroup-based communication system 105 via a web browser. As yet anotherexample, the client computing device 102A-102F may include varioushardware or firmware designed to interface with the group-basedcommunication system 105.

In some embodiments of an exemplary group-based communication system105, a message or messaging communication may be sent from a clientcomputing device 102A-102F to a group-based communication system 105. Invarious implementations, the message may be sent to the group-basedcommunication system 105 over communications network 104 directly by aclient computing device 102A-102F, the message may be sent to thegroup-based communication system 105 via an intermediary such as amessage server, and/or the like. For example, the client computingdevice 102A-102F may be a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone,and/or the like that is executing a client application (e.g., agroup-based communication app). In one implementation, the message mayinclude data such as a message identifier, sending user identifier, agroup identifier, a group-based communication channel identifier,message contents (e.g., text, emojis, images, links), attachments (e.g.,files), message hierarchy data (e.g., the message may be a reply toanother message), third party metadata, and/or the like. In oneembodiment, the client computing device 102A-102F may provide thefollowing example message, substantially in the form of a (Secure)Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP(S)”) POST message includingeXtensible Markup Language (“XML”) formatted data, as provided below:

POST /authrequest.php HTTP/1.1 Host: www.server.corn Content-Type:Application/XML Content-Length: 667 <?XML version = “1.0” encoding =“UTF-8”?> <auth_request>  <timestamp>2020-12-31 23:59:59</timestamp> <user_accounts details>   <user_account_credentials>   <user_name>ID_user_1</user name>    <password>abc123</password>   //OPTIONAL <cookie>cookieID</cookie>    //OPTIONAL<digital_cert_link>www.mydigitalcertificate.com/JohnDoeDaDoeDoe@gmail.com/mycertifcate.dc</digital_cert_link>  //OPTIONAL <digital_certificate>_DATA_</digital_certificate>  </user_account_credentials>  </user_accounts_details>  <clientdetails>//iOS Client with App and Webkit    //it should be noted thatalthough several client details    //sections are provided to showexample variants of client    //sources, further messages will includeonly on to save    //space   <client_IP>10.0.0.123</client_IP>   <useragent string>Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_1_1 like Mac OS X)AppleWebKit/537.51.2 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/ 7.0 Mobile/11D201Safari/9537.53</user_agent_string>   <client_producttype>iPhone6,1</client_product type>   <client serialnumber>DNXXX1X1XXXX</client_serial_number>  <client_UDID>3XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD</   client_UDID>  <client_OS>i0S</client_OS>  <client_OS_version>7.1.1</client_OS_version>   <client_app_type>appwith webkit</client_app_type>  <app_installed_flag>true</app_installed_flag>  <app_name>nickname.app</app_name>   <app_version>1.0</app_version>  <app_webkit_name>Mobile Safari</client_webkit_name>  <client_version>537.51.2</client_version>  </client_details> <client_details> //iOS Client with Webbrowser  <client_IP>10.0.0.123</client_IP>   <user_agent_string>Mozilla/5.0(iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_1_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/537.51.2 (KHTML,like Gecko) Version/ 7.0 Mobile/11D201Safari/9537.53</user_agent_string>  <client_product_type>iPhone6,1</client_product_type>  <client_serial_number>DNXXX1X1XXXX</client_serial_number>  <client_UDID>3XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD</   client_UDID>  <client_OS>iOS</client_OS>  <client_OS_version>7.1.1</client_OS_version>   <client_app_type>webbrowser</client_app_type>   <client_name>Mobile Safari</client_name>  <client_version>9537.53</client_version>  </client_details> <client_details> //Android Client with Webbrowser  <client_IP>10.0.0.123</client_IP>   <user_agent_string>Mozilla/5.0(Linux; U; Android 4.0.4; en-us; Nexus S Build/IMM76D)AppleWebKit/534.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 MobileSafari/534.30</user_agent_string>   <client_product_type>NexusS</client_product_type>  <client_serial_number>YXXXXXXXXZ</client_serial_number>  <client_UDID>FXXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX- XXXXXXXXXXXXX</client_UDID>  <client_OS>Android</client_OS>  <client_OS_version>4.0.4</client_OS_version>   <client_app_type>webbrowser</client_app_type>   <client_name>Mobile Safari</client name>  <client_version>534.30</client_version>  </client_details> <client_details> //Mac Desktop with Webbrowser  <client_IP>10.0.0.123</client IP>   <user_agent_string>Mozilla/5.0(Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_9_3) AppleWebKit/537.75.14 (KHTML, likeGecko) Version/7.0.3 Safari/537.75.14</user agent string>  <client_product_type>MacPro5,1</client_product_type>  <client_serial_number>YXXXXXXXXZ</client_serial_number>  <client_UDID>FXXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX- XXXXXXXXXXXXX</client_UDID>  <client_OS>Mac OS X</client OS>  <client_OS_version>10.9.3</client_OS_version>   <client_app_type>webbrowser</client_app_type>   <client_name>Mobile Safari</client_name>  <client_version>537.75.14</client_version>  </client_details> <message>   <message_identifier>ID_message_10</message_identifier>  <team_identifier>ID_team_1</team identifier>  <channel_identifier>ID_channel_1</channel_identifier>   <contents>Thatis an interesting disclosure. I have attached a copy our patentpolicy.</contents>   <attachments>patent_policy.pdf</attachments> </message>  </auth_request>

The group-based communication system 105 comprises at least onegroup-based communication server 106 that may create a storage messagebased upon the received message to facilitate message indexing andstorage in a group-based communication repository 107. In oneimplementation, the storage message may include data such as a messageidentifier, a group identifier, a group-based communication channelidentifier, a sending user identifier, topics, responses, messagecontents, attachments, message hierarchy data, third party metadata,conversation primitive data, and/or the like. For example, thegroup-based communication server 106 may provide the following examplestorage message, substantially in the form of a HTTP(S) POST messageincluding XML-formatted data, as provided below:

POST /storage_message.php HTTP/1.1 Host: www.server.com Content-Type:Application/XML Content-Length: 667 <?XML version = “1.0” encoding =“UTF-8”?> <storage_message> <message_identifier>ID_message_10</message_identifier> <team_identifier>ID_team_1</team_identifier> <channel_identifier>ID_channel_1</channel_identifier> <sending_user_identifier>ID_user_1</sending_user_identifier>  <topics>  <topic>disclosures</topic>   <topic>patents</topic>  <topic>policies</topic>  </topics>  <responses>   <response>liked byID_user_2</response>   <response>starred by ID_user_3</response> </responses>  <contents>That is an interesting disclosure. I haveattached a copy  our patent  policy.</contents> <attachments>patent_policy.pdf</attachments>  <conversation_primitive>  conversation includes messages: ID_message_8, ID_message_9,  ID_message 10,    ID_message_11, ID_message_12 </conversation_primitive> </storage_message>

In embodiments, a group identifier as defined above may be associatedwith the message. In embodiments, a group-based communication channelidentifier as defined above may be associated with the message. Inembodiments, a sending user identifier as defined above may beassociated with the message. In one implementation, the message may beparsed (e.g., using PHP—i.e. the script language derived from PersonalHome Page Tools—commands) to determine a sending user identifier of theuser who sent the message. In embodiments, topics may be associated withthe message. In one implementation, the message contents may be parsed(e.g., using PHP commands) to determine topics discussed in the message.For example, hashtags in the message may indicate topics associated withthe message. In another example, the message may be analyzed (e.g., byitself, with other messages in a conversation primitive) or parsed usinga machine learning technique, such as topic modeling, to determinetopics associated with the message. In embodiments, data indicatingresponses may be associated with the message. For example, responses tothe message by other users may include reactions (e.g., selection of anemoji associated with the message, selection of a “like” buttonassociated with the message), clicking on a hyperlink embedded in themessage, replying to the message (e.g., posting a message to thegroup-based communication channel in response to the message),downloading a file associated with the message, sharing the message fromone group-based communication channel to another group-basedcommunication channel, pinning the message, starring the message, and/orthe like. In one implementation, data regarding responses to the messageby other users may be included with the message, and the message may beparsed (e.g., using PHP commands) to determine the responses. In anotherimplementation, data regarding responses to the message may be retrievedfrom a database. For example, data regarding responses to the messagemay be retrieved via a MySQL database command similar to the following:

SELECT messageResponses FROM MSM_Message WHERE messagelD =ID_message_10.

For example, data regarding responses to the message may be used todetermine context for the message (e.g., a social score for the messagefrom the perspective of some user). In another example, data regardingresponses to the message may be analyzed to determine context regardingthe user (e.g., the user's expertise in a topic may be determined basedon the responses to the user's message regarding the topic).

In embodiments, attachments may be included with the message. If thereare attachments, files may be associated with the message. In oneimplementation, the message may be parsed (e.g., using PHP commands) todetermine file names of the attachments. For example, file contents maybe analyzed to determine context for the message (e.g., a patent policydocument may indicate that the message is associated with the topic“patents”).

In embodiments, third party metadata may be associated with the message.For example, third party metadata may provide additional contextregarding the message or the user that is specific to a company, group,group-based communication channel, and/or the like. In oneimplementation, the message may be parsed (e.g., using PHP commands) todetermine third party metadata. For example, third party metadata mayindicate whether the user who sent the message is an authorizedrepresentative of the group-based communication channel (e.g., anauthorized representative may be authorized by the company to respond toquestions in the group-based communication channel).

In embodiments, a conversation primitive may be associated with themessage. In one implementation, a conversation primitive is an elementused to analyze, index, store, and/or the like messages. For example,the message may be analyzed by itself, and may form its own conversationprimitive. In another example, the message may be analyzed along withother messages that make up a conversation, and the messages that makeup the conversation may form a conversation primitive. In oneimplementation, the conversation primitive may be determined as themessage, a specified number (e.g., two) of preceding messages and aspecified number (e.g., two) of following messages. In anotherimplementation, the conversation primitive may be determined based onanalysis of topics discussed in the message and other messages (e.g., inthe channel) and/or proximity (e.g., message send order proximity,message send time proximity) of these messages.

In embodiments, various metadata, determined as described above, and/orthe contents of the message may be used to index the message (e.g.,using the conversation primitive) to facilitate various facets ofsearching (i.e., search queries that return results from group-basedcommunication repository 107). In one implementation, a storage messagemay be sent from group-based communication server 106 to facilitateindexing in group-based communication repository 107. In anotherimplementation, metadata associated with the message may be determinedand the message may be indexed in group-based communication repository107. In one embodiment, the message may be indexed such that a company'sor a group's messages are indexed separately (e.g., in a separate indexassociated with the group and/or company that is not shared with othergroups and/or companies). In one implementation, messages may be indexedat a separate distributed repository (e.g., to facilitate data isolationfor security purposes).

If there are attachments associated with the message, file contents ofthe associated files may be used to index such files in group-basedcommunication repository 107 to facilitate searching. In one embodiment,the files may be indexed such that a company's or a group's files areindexed at a separate distributed repository.

Example Apparatus for Implementing Embodiments of the Present Disclosure

The group-based communication server 106 may be embodied by one or morecomputing systems, such as apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 . The apparatus200 may include a processor 202, a memory 201, input/output circuitry203, communications circuitry 205, and group-based communicationcircuitry 204. The apparatus 200 may be configured to execute theoperations described herein. Although the components are described withrespect to functional limitations, it should be understood that theparticular implementations necessarily include the use of particularhardware. It should also be understood that certain of the componentsdescribed herein may include similar or common hardware. For example,two sets of circuitry may both leverage use of the same processor,network interface, storage medium, or the like to perform theirassociated functions, such that duplicate hardware is not required foreach set of circuitry. The use of the term “circuitry” as used hereinwith respect to components of the apparatus should therefore beunderstood to include particular hardware configured to perform thefunctions associated with the particular circuitry as described herein.

The term “circuitry” should be understood broadly to include hardwareand, in some embodiments, software for configuring the hardware. Forexample, in some embodiments, “circuitry” may include processingcircuitry, storage media, network interfaces, input/output devices, andthe like. In some embodiments, other elements of the apparatus 200 mayprovide or supplement the functionality of particular circuitry. Forexample, the processor 202 may provide processing functionality, thememory 201 may provide storage functionality, the communicationscircuitry 205 may provide network interface functionality, and the like.

In some embodiments, the processor 202 (and/or co-processor or any otherprocessing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated with theprocessor) may be in communication with the memory 201 via a bus forpassing information among components of the apparatus. The memory 201may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memorymay be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storagemedium). The memory 201 may be configured to store information, data,content, applications, instructions, or the like, for enabling theapparatus 200 to carry out various functions in accordance with exampleembodiments of the present disclosure.

The processor 202 may be embodied in a number of different ways and may,for example, include one or more processing devices configured toperform independently. Additionally or alternatively, the processor mayinclude one or more processors configured in tandem via a bus to enableindependent execution of instructions, pipelining, and/ormultithreading. The use of the term “processing circuitry” may beunderstood to include a single core processor, a multi-core processor,multiple processors internal to the apparatus, and/or remote or “cloud”processors.

In an example embodiment, the processor 202 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory 201 or otherwise accessible to theprocessor. Alternatively, or additionally, the processor may beconfigured to execute hard-coded functionality. As such, whetherconfigured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof,the processor may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied incircuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodimentof the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Alternatively,as another example, when the processor is embodied as an executor ofsoftware instructions, the instructions may specifically configure theprocessor to perform the algorithms and/or operations described hereinwhen the instructions are executed.

As just one example, the processor 202 may be configured to maintain oneor more communication channels connecting a plurality of clientcomputing devices 102A-102F to enable message sharing therebetween. Theprocessor 202 ensures that messages intended for exchange between theclient computing devices 102A-102F within the particular communicationchannel are properly disseminated to those client computing devices102A-102F for display within respective display windows provided via theclient computing devices 102A-102F.

Moreover, the processor 202 may be configured to synchronize messagesexchanged on a particular communication channel with a database forstorage and/or indexing of messages therein. In certain embodiments, theprocessor 202 may provide stored and/or indexed messages fordissemination to client computing devices 102A-102F.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 200 may include input/outputcircuitry 203 that may, in turn, be in communication with processor 202to provide output to the user and, in some embodiments, to receive anindication of a user input. The input/output circuitry 203 may comprisea user interface and may include a display and may comprise a web userinterface, a mobile application, a client computing device, a kiosk, orthe like. In some embodiments, the input/output circuitry 203 may alsoinclude a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touch screen, touch areas,soft keys, a microphone, a speaker, or other input/output mechanisms.The processor and/or user interface circuitry comprising the processormay be configured to control one or more functions of one or more userinterface elements through computer program instructions (e.g., softwareand/or firmware) stored on a memory accessible to the processor (e.g.,memory 201, and/or the like).

The communications circuitry 205 may be any means such as a device orcircuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware andsoftware that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to anetwork and/or any other device, circuitry, or module in communicationwith the apparatus 200. In this regard, the communications circuitry 205may include, for example, a network interface for enablingcommunications with a wired or wireless communication network. Forexample, the communications circuitry 205 may include one or morenetwork interface cards, antennae, buses, switches, routers, modems, andsupporting hardware and/or software, or any other device suitable forenabling communications via a network. Additionally or alternatively,the communication interface may include the circuitry for interactingwith the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s)or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s).

The group-based communication circuitry 204 includes hardware configuredto support a group-based communication system. The group-basedcommunication circuitry 204 may utilize processing circuitry, such asthe processor 202, to perform these actions. The group-basedcommunication circuitry 204 may send and/or receive data fromgroup-based communication repository 107. In some implementations, thesent and/or received data may be of digital content objects organizedamong a plurality of group-based communication channels. It should alsobe appreciated that, in some embodiments, the group-based communicationcircuitry 204 may include a separate processor, specially configuredfield programmable gate array (FPGA), or application specific interfacecircuit (ASIC).

It is also noted that all or some of the information discussed hereincan be based on data that is received, generated and/or maintained byone or more components of apparatus 200. In some embodiments, one ormore external systems (such as a remote cloud computing and/or datastorage system) may also be leveraged to provide at least some of thefunctionality discussed herein.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured as methods,mobile devices, backend network devices, and the like. Accordingly,embodiments may comprise various means including entirely of hardware orany combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments maytake the form of a computer program product on at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storagemedium. Similarly, embodiments may take the form of a computer programcode stored on at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilizedincluding non-transitory hard disks, CD-ROMs, flash memory, opticalstorage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions and/orother type of code may be loaded onto a computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus's circuitry to produce a machine, such that thecomputer, processor, or other programmable circuitry that execute thecode on the machine creates the means for implementing variousfunctions, including those described herein.

Client Computing Device Overview

A client computing device 102A-102F may include one or more computingsystems, such as the apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 3 . The apparatus 300may include a processor 302, a memory 301, input/output circuitry 303,and communications circuitry 305. The apparatus 300 may be configured toexecute the operations described herein. Although the components aredescribed with respect to functional limitations, it should beunderstood that the particular implementations necessarily include theuse of particular hardware. It should also be understood that certain ofthe components described herein may include similar or common hardware.For example, two sets of circuitry may both leverage use of the sameprocessor, network interface, storage medium, or the like to performtheir associated functions, such that duplicate hardware is not requiredfor each set of circuitry. The use of the term “circuitry” as usedherein with respect to components of the apparatus should therefore beunderstood to include particular hardware configured to perform thefunctions associated with the particular circuitry as described herein.

The term “circuitry” should be understood broadly to include hardwareand, in some embodiments, software for configuring the hardware. Forexample, in some embodiments, “circuitry” may include processingcircuitry, storage media, network interfaces, input/output devices, andthe like. In some embodiments, other elements of the apparatus 300 mayprovide or supplement the functionality of particular circuitry. Forexample, the processor 302 may provide processing functionality, thememory 301 may provide storage functionality, the communicationscircuitry 305 may provide network interface functionality, and the like.

In some embodiments, the processor 302 (and/or co-processor or any otherprocessing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated with theprocessor) may be in communication with the memory 301 via a bus forpassing information among components of the apparatus. The memory 301may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memorymay be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storagemedium). The memory 301 may be configured to store information, data,content, applications, instructions, or the like, for enabling theapparatus 300 to carry out various functions in accordance with exampleembodiments of the present disclosure.

The processor 302 may be embodied in a number of different ways and may,for example, include one or more processing devices configured toperform independently. Additionally or alternatively, the processor mayinclude one or more processors configured in tandem via a bus to enableindependent execution of instructions, pipelining, and/ormultithreading. The use of the term “processing circuitry” may beunderstood to include a single core processor, a multi-core processor,multiple processors internal to the apparatus, and/or remote or “cloud”processors.

In an example embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory 301 or otherwise accessible to theprocessor. Alternatively, or additionally, the processor may beconfigured to execute hard-coded functionality. As such, whetherconfigured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof,the processor may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied incircuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodimentof the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Alternatively,as another example, when the processor is embodied as an executor ofsoftware instructions, the instructions may specifically configure theprocessor to perform the algorithms and/or operations described hereinwhen the instructions are executed.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 300 may include input/outputcircuitry 303 that may, in turn, be in communication with processor 302to provide output to the user and, in some embodiments, to receive anindication of a user input. The input/output circuitry 303 may comprisea user interface and may include a display and may comprise a web userinterface, a mobile application, a client computing device, a kiosk, orthe like. In some embodiments, the input/output circuitry 303 may alsoinclude a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touch screen, touch areas,soft keys, a microphone, a speaker, or other input/output mechanisms.The processor and/or user interface circuitry comprising the processormay be configured to control one or more functions of one or more userinterface elements through computer program instructions (e.g., softwareand/or firmware) stored on a memory accessible to the processor (e.g.,memory 301, and/or the like).

The communications circuitry 305 may be any means such as a device orcircuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware andsoftware that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to anetwork and/or any other device, circuitry, or module in communicationwith the apparatus 300. In this regard, the communications circuitry 305may include, for example, a network interface for enablingcommunications with a wired or wireless communication network. Forexample, the communications circuitry 305 may include one or morenetwork interface cards, antennae, buses, switches, routers, modems, andsupporting hardware and/or software, or any other device suitable forenabling communications via a network. Additionally or alternatively,the communication interface may include the circuitry for interactingwith the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s)or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s).

It is also noted that all or some of the information discussed hereincan be based on data that is received, generated and/or maintained byone or more components of apparatus 300. In some embodiments, one ormore external systems (such as a remote cloud computing and/or datastorage system) may also be leveraged to provide at least some of thefunctionality discussed herein.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured as methods,mobile devices, backend network devices, and the like. Accordingly,embodiments may comprise various means including entirely of hardware orany combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments maytake the form of a computer program product on at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storagemedium. Similarly, embodiments may take the form of a computer programcode stored on at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilizedincluding non-transitory hard disks, CD-ROMs, flash memory, opticalstorage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions and/orother type of code may be loaded onto a computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus's circuitry to produce a machine, such that thecomputer, processor, or other programmable circuitry that execute thecode on the machine creates the means for implementing variousfunctions, including those described herein.

Exemplary System Operations

FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram of an example process 400 for performingformat-dynamic string processing in a communication system. Via thevarious operations of process 400, a communication server can performstring processing in a manner that reduces operational costs associatedwith lack of text formatting interoperability across client devicesinteracting with the communication server. While various embodiments ofprocess 400 are described herein with reference to a group-basedcommunication server 106 of a group-based communication system 105, aperson of ordinary skill in the relevant technology will recognize thatthe disclosed techniques can be utilized for format-dynamic stringprocessing in non-group-based communication systems as well as insystems other than communication systems, such as in document repositorysystems and in collaborative work environment systems.

The process 400 begins at operation 401 when the group-basedcommunication server 106 receives an input string from a source clientdevice 102A-F, where the input string may include data that indicatesthat the input string is intended to be communicated to one or moredestination client devices 102A-F associated with the group-basedcommunication system 105. The input string may include encoded dataassociated with a message communication intended to be communicated toone or more destination user profiles of the group-based communicationsystem 105. The encoded data associated with a message communication mayin turn include content data associated with the message communicationand formatting data associated with the message communication. Contentdata associated with the message communication may include data encodedusing one or more text encoding protocols, such as using ASCII textencoding protocol or a Unicode text encoding protocol. Format dataassociated with the message communication may include data encoded usingone or more text feature encoding protocols, such as one or morepresentation feature encoding protocols.

In some embodiments, the input string may include data associated with abroadcast message. For example, an input string associated with agroup-based communication message transmitted to a group-basedcommunication channel may be a broadcast message, as a group-basedcommunication message transmitted to a group-based communication channelis typically intended to be transmitted to every group-basedcommunication profile associated with the group-based communicationchannel. In some embodiments, the input string may include dataassociated with a non-broadcast message targeted to a particulargroup-based communication profile. For example, an input stringassociated with a private message may be a non-broadcast messagetargeted to a particular group-based communication profile, as a privatemessage is typically intended to be transmitted to identified recipientprofiles.

In some embodiments, the input string is part of one or more input datapackets that include, in addition to the input string, information aboutone or more operational properties of the source client deviceassociated with the input string and/or one more operational propertiesof at least one of the one or more destination client devices associatedwith the input string. In some embodiments, the input data packetsinclude authentication information associated with a sending userprofile of the group-based communication system 105 that enable thesource client device to interact with the group-based communicationsystem 105 on behalf of the sending user profile. In some embodiments,the input data packets include authorization information associated withthe destination user profile of the group-based communication system 105that enable the source computing device to cause transmission ofintended message data to one or more intended recipient user profiles ofthe group-based communication system 105.

In some embodiments, the input string is associated with a structuredformat, where the structured format may define one or more presentationfeature encoding protocols associated with the input string. In someembodiments, a presentation feature encoding protocol defines guidelinesfor defining presentation-related features for one or more inputstrings. Examples of presentation feature encoding protocols includemarkup-based feature encoding protocols and serialization-based featureencoding protocols, as further described below. In some embodiments,presentation-related features for input strings include visualizationeffects that affect a manner of display of at least a portion of theinput strings. Examples of visualization effects include boldingvisualization effects, italicization visualization effects, underliningvisualization effects, color modification visualization effects, sizeenhancement visualization effects, etc.

In some embodiments, the presentation feature encoding protocols by thestructured format include a markup-based structured format. In someembodiments, a markup-based structured format enables defining inputstring features by integrating in-line symbols within input strings. Forexample, a markup-based structured format may be characterized by afunctionality that enables italicizing a particular input text stringdata portion by putting particular alphanumeric character patternsimmediately before and after the particular input text string dataportion. An operational example of a marked-up input string 500 ispresented in FIG. 5 . The exemplary marked-up input string 500 includesin-line symbols 501-504 that define input string features for differentsegments of the marked-up input string 500.

As depicted in in FIG. 5 , SEGMENT1 of the marked-up input string 500 isimmediately preceded and followed by the in-line symbols 501-502. Asfurther depicted in in FIG. 5 , SEGMENT2 of the marked-up input string500 is immediately preceded and followed by the in-line symbols 503-504.In some embodiments, processing the marked-up input string 500 inaccordance with the applicable presentation feature encoding protocolmay lead to generating the displayed text interface 700 of FIG. 7 , inwhich SEGMENT1 of the marked-up input string 500 is bolded and SEGMENT2of the marked-up input string 500 is italicized.

In some embodiments, the presentation feature encoding protocols by thestructured format include a serialization-based structured format. Insome embodiments, a serialization-based structured format enablesdefining features by supplying feature-definition instructions withinfeature definition files associated with the input string. For example,a particular serialization-based structured format may enable definingvisualization features for particular input string portions throughproviding feature arrays associated with input string data portions(e.g., a feature array in which one feature value represents whether thecorresponding input string data portion should be italicized, anotherfeature value represents whether the corresponding input string dataportion should be bolded, another feature value represents a desiredsize of the input string data portion, etc.).

An operational example of a feature definition file 600 associated withthe serialization-based structured format is presented in FIG. 6 . Theexemplary feature definition file 600 includes a feature array 601-602for each formatted segment of an associated input string, where eachfeature array 601-602 defines a bolding visualization feature value forthe input string segment associated with the feature array 601-602, anitalicizing visualization feature value for the input string segmentassociated with the feature array 601-602, and a size visualizationfeature value for the input string segment associated with the featurearray 601-602. In particular, as depicted in FIG. 6 , SEGMENT1 of thefeature definition file 600 is associated with a feature array 601 whichdefines SEGMENT1 as being bolded, not italicized, and with a size of 20points, while SEGMENT2 of the feature definition file 600 is associatedwith a feature array 602 which defines SEGMENT2 as being italicized, notbolded, and with a size of 20 points. In some embodiments, processing anassociated input string in accordance with the feature definition file600 may lead to generating the displayed text interface 700 of FIG. 7 ,in which SEGMENT1 of the input string is bolded and SEGMENT2 of theinput string is italicized.

Returning to FIG. 4 , at operation 402, the group-based communicationserver 106 determines whether the structured format associated with theinput string is a universal format or a non-universal format. In someembodiments, a universal format is a structured format determined tohave an optimal degree of adoption by user profiles of a communicationenvironment characterized by one or more communication systems, while anon-universal format is a structured format determined and/or estimatedto have a suboptimal degree of adoption by user profiles of acommunication environment characterized by one or more communicationsystems. In some embodiments, determining whether a particularstructured format is performed based on one or more integration indiciaassociated with the structured format, where integration indicia for aparticular structured format indicate properties of the structuredformat that are deemed related to an estimated degree of integration ofthe structured format among the user profiles of the group-basedcommunication system.

For example, a universal format for a group-based communication systemmay be a structured format that has been estimated and/or detected to beinstalled by a threshold share of end users of the group-basedcommunication system. As another example, a universal format for agroup-based communication system may be a structured format that hasbeen estimated and/or detected to be used at least once by a thresholdshare of end users of the group-based communication system. As yetanother example, a universal format for a group-based communicationsystem may be a structured format that has been estimated and/ordetected to be used on a frequent basis by a threshold share of endusers of the group-based communication system. As a further example, auniversal format for a group-based communication system may be astructured format that has been released before a particular thresholdtime interval.

In some embodiments, the one or more universal formats and the one ormore non-universal formats are defined with respect to a structuredformat integration procedure, where the structured format integrationprocedure may include a plurality of software update releases associatedwith the communication system, the plurality of software update releasesinclude one or more display-related update releases and one or morecomposition-related update releases, and the one or more display-relatedupdate releases are performed prior to the one or morecomposition-related update releases. In some embodiments, when releasingsoftware updates that relate to a particular structured format (e.g., anewly deployed structured format), software update releases that enabledisplaying visualization features encoded in accordance with thestructured format are prioritized over software update releases thatenable encoding visualization features encoded in accordance with thestructured format.

In some embodiments, identifying universality of supported structuredformats is performed in accordance with the process 900 depicted in theflowchart diagram of FIG. 9 . As depicted in FIG. 9 , the process 900begins at operation 901 when the group-based communication server 106identifies one or more supported text formats associated with thegroup-based communication system 105. At operation 902, the group-basedcommunication server 106 determines an integration ratio for eachsupported text format. In some embodiments, an integration ratio for asupported structured format indicates an estimated share of userprofiles and/or sufficiently active user profiles associated with thegroup-based communication system 105 that are determined and/or detectedto have integrated functionalities associated with at least one ofcomposing text using the supported structured format and displayingmessages associated with the supported text format. In some embodiments,the integration ratio for the supported structured format is determinedbased on an updated device ratio for a software update releaseassociated with the supported structured format (e.g., the softwareupdate release in which functionalities associated with at least one ofcomposing text using the supported structured format and displayingmessages associated with the supported structured format are integratedinto a client-side software application for the group-basedcommunication system 105).

At operation 903, the group-based communication server 106 determineswhether the integration ratio satisfies one or more integrationthreshold criteria. In some embodiments, the integration thresholdcriteria define a level of integration ratio whose achievement by asupported structured format suggests near-universal adaptation of thesupported structured format by user profiles and/or sufficiently activeuser profiles of the group-based communication system 105. At operation904, in response to a determining that the integration ratio for aparticular supported structured format satisfies the one or moreintegration threshold criteria, the group-based communication server 106determines that the particular supported structured format is auniversal format. At operation 905, in response to determining that theintegration ratio for a particular supported structured format fails tosatisfy the one or more integration threshold criteria, the group-basedcommunication server 106 determines that the particular supportedstructured format is a non-universal format.

Returning to FIG. 4 , in response to determining that the determinedstructured format of the input string is a non-universal format, thegroup-based communication system performs operations 403-405. Atoperation 403, the group-based communication server 106 generates, basedon the input string, one or more fallback data objects associated withthe input string, where each of the one or more fallbacks is associatedwith a respective universal format of at least one of the one or moreuniversal formats. In some embodiments, to generate a fallback dataobject for an input string, the group-based communication server 106generates data that includes formatting information of the input stringencoded in accordance with a universal format associated with thefallback data object.

For example, if an input string is associated with a non-universalformat that is a serialization-based structured format, the group-basedcommunication system 106 may generate a fallback data object associatedwith a universal format that is a markup-based structured format byencoding formatting information in a feature definition file for theinput string as in-line symbols within the input string. As anotherexample, if an input string is associated with a non-universal formatthat is a markup-based structured format, the group-based communicationsystem 106 may generate a fallback data object associated with auniversal format that is a serialization-based structured format byencoding formatting information encoded as in-line symbols of the inputstring as feature-definition instructions (e.g., feature arraydefinitions) within a feature definition. Accordingly, in someembodiments, the group-based communication server 106 may convert thestructured format of an input string with a non-universal format to auniversal format. For example, the group-based communication server 106may identify that RTF has not achieved sufficient adaptation by userprofiles of the group-based communication server 106 and thus convert aninput string formatted in accordance with RTF into a universal formatfor the group-based communication system 105.

At operation 404, the group-based communication server 106 generates acomposite data object based on the input string and each of the one ormore fallback data objects. In some embodiments, the composite dataobject is a data object that includes content data associated with theinput string as well as formatting data associated with the inputstring, where the formatting data associated with the input stringincludes formatting data associated with each fallback data object(e.g., formatting data associated with each universal structured formatfor the group-based communication system 105). In some embodiments, theformatting data associated with the input string configured to beincluded in the composite data object also includes original formattingdata of the input string, i.e., formatting data of the input stringextracted from the input string and/or formatting data of the inputstring defined in accordance with the structured format of the inputstring.

In some embodiments, the group-based communication server 106 maydetermine that no supported structured format associated with thegroup-based communication system 105 is a universal format and that allsupported structured formats associated with the group-basedcommunication system 105 are non-universal. In some of thoseembodiments, in response to the noted determination, the group-basedcommunication server 106 may identify a collection of supportedstructured formats whose collective adaption by the user profiles of thegroup-based communication system 105 exceeds an adaptation thresholdand/or whose collective integration by user profiles of the group-basedcommunication system 105 exceeds an integration threshold. Thegroup-based communication server 106 may then generate a composite dataobject that includes formatting data for the input string in accordancewith each supported structured format in the collection of supportedstructured formats.

In some embodiments, the composite data object may include formattingdata for the input string generated in accordance with each structuredformat determined to be most efficiently interpretable and/or mostefficiently displayable on a client device of a destination clientdevice associated with the input string. In some embodiments, thestructured formats determined to be most efficiently interpretableand/or most efficiently displayable on a particular destination clientdevice may be determined based on past operational data and/or pastperformance data monitored and recorded for the destination clientdevice.

At operation 405, the group-based communication server 106 transmits thegenerated composite data to each destination client device associatedwith the input string. In contrast, at operation 406, in response todetermining that the determined structured format of the input string isa universal format, the group-based communication server 106 transmitsthe input string to each destination client device associated with theinput string. In some embodiments, depending on universality of thedetermined structured format for the input string, the group-basedcommunication server 106 may forward the input string in a non-convertedformat or may first convert the format of the input string beforetransmission of message data associated with the input string. In someembodiments, transmission of data between the source client device andthe destination client devices is performed as part of formatted datatransmissions between one or more updated client devices and one or morenon-updated client devices.

FIG. 8 is a transmission flow diagram of an example process 800 forfacilitating formatted data transmission between an example updatedclient device (e.g., updated client device A 102A) and an examplenon-updated client device (e.g., non-updated client device D 102D). Asdepicted in FIG. 8 , when the non-updated client device D 102D transmitsa universal format input string having a universal format to thegroup-based communication repository 107 at operation 801, thegroup-based communication system 106 retrieves the universal formatinput string from the group-based communication repository 107 atoperation 802 and transmits (e.g., forwards) the retrieved universalformat input string to the intended destination device (i.e., theupdated client device A 102A) at operation 803.

However, when the updated client device A transmits a non-universalformat input string having a non-universal format to the group-basedcommunication repository 107 at operation 804, the group-basedcommunication system 106 retrieves the non-universal format input stringfrom the group-based communication repository 107 at operation 805,identifies the composition eligibility of the non-universal format inputstring (e.g., identifies that the non-universal format input string isassociated with a destination device estimated to be a non-updateddevice and/or identifies that the non-universal format input string isassociated with a broadcast message) at operation 806, generates acomposite object for the retrieved non-universal format input string atoperation 807, and transmits the composite object to the intendeddestination device (i.e., the non-updated client device D 102D) atoperation 808. In some embodiments, process 800 may be utilized toenable real-time and/or non-real-time communications between clientdevices of diverse software update history designations.

Additional Example Implementation Details

Although example processing systems have been described in FIGS. 1-3 ,implementations of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed herein can be implemented in other types of digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described hereincan be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computersoftware, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed inthis specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinationsof one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter describedherein can be implemented as one or more computer programs (i.e., one ormore modules of computer program instructions) encoded oncomputer-readable storage medium for execution by, or to control theoperation of, information/data processing apparatus. Alternatively, orin addition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated command (e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic command) which is generated toencode information/data for transmission to suitable receiver apparatusfor execution by an information/data processing apparatus. Acomputer-readable storage medium can be, or be included in, acomputer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate,a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination ofone or more of them. Moreover, while a computer-readable storage mediumis not a propagated command, a computer-readable storage medium can be asource or destination of computer program instructions encoded in anartificially-generated propagated command. The computer-readable storagemedium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate physicalcomponents or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storagedevices).

The operations described herein can be implemented as operationsperformed by an information/data processing apparatus oninformation/data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devicesor received from other sources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry (e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question (e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more ofthem). The apparatus and execution environment can realize variousdifferent computing model infrastructures, such as web services,distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor information/data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markuplanguage document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer programcan be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described herein can be performed by oneor more programmable processors executing one or more computer programsto perform actions by operating on input information/data and generatingoutput. Processors suitable for the execution of a computer programinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digitalcomputer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions andinformation/data from a read-only memory, a random access memory, orboth. The essential elements of a computer are a processor forperforming actions in accordance with instructions and one or morememory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computerwill also include, or be operatively coupled to receive information/datafrom or transfer information/data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data (e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, oroptical disks). However, a computer need not have such devices. Devicessuitable for storing computer program instructions and information/datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks). The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described herein can be implemented on a computer having adisplay device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) monitor) for displaying information/data to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer). Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input). In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein can be implemented ina computing system that includes a back-end component (e.g., as aninformation/data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g.,an application server), or that includes a front-end component (e.g., aclient device having a graphical user interface or a web browser throughwhich a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matterdescribed herein), or any combination of one or more such back-end,middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system can beinterconnected by any form or medium of digital information/datacommunication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communicationnetworks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network(“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), and peer-to-peernetworks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits information/data (e.g., an HTML page) toa client device (e.g., for purposes of displaying information/data toand receiving user input from a user interacting with the clientdevice). Information/data generated at the client device (e.g., a resultof the user interaction) can be received from the client device at theserver.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anydisclosures or of what may be claimed, but rather as description offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular disclosures.Certain features that are described herein in the context of separateembodiments can also be implemented in combination in a singleembodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults, unless described otherwise. In certain circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system components in the embodiments describedabove should not be understood as requiring such separation in allembodiments, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults, unless described otherwise. In certain implementations,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosures set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thesedisclosures pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing description and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the disclosures are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, unlessdescribed otherwise.

Conclusion

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosures set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thesedisclosures pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the disclosures are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method, implemented by one or morecomputing devices of a communication system, comprising: identifying oneor more universal formats associated with the communication system;identifying one or more non-universal formats associated with thecommunication system, wherein a non-universal format of the one or morenon-universal formats includes a format that does not satisfy a usagecondition associated with a threshold number of users of thecommunication system, and wherein the usage condition comprises theformat being used at least once by the threshold number of users;receiving, from a source client device associated with the communicationsystem, an input string; in response to a determination that the inputstring is associated with the non-universal format, performing a formatmodification to the input string; and transmitting a modified inputstring to one or more destination client devices.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein identifying the one or more universal formats comprises, fora supported structured format associated with the communication system:determining a condition associated with the supported structured format;and in response to a second determination that the condition satisfiesone or more thresholds, determining that the supported structured formatis one of the one or more universal formats.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein a universal format of the one or more universal formatscomprises a supported structured format that has been at least one ofestimated or detected to be: installed by a first number of users, ofthe communication system, that satisfies a first threshold; used atleast once by a second number of users, of the communication system,that satisfies a second threshold; or used on a frequent basis by athird number of users, of the communication system, that satisfies athird threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the oneor more non-universal formats comprises, for a supported structuredformat associated with the communication system: determining a conditionassociated with the supported structured format; and in response to asecond determination that the condition fails to satisfy one or morethresholds, determining that the supported structured format is one ofthe one or more non-universal formats.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe non-universal format comprises a supported structured format thathas been at least one of estimated or detected to be: installed by afirst number of users, of the communication system, that is below afirst threshold; or used on a frequent basis by a second number ofusers, of the communication system, that satisfies a second threshold.6. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the format modification tothe input string comprises generating one or more fallback data objectsfor the input string, wherein an individual fallback data object of theone or more fallback data objects includes content data associated withthe input string formatted in accordance with a universal format of theone or more universal formats.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereintransmitting the modified input string to the one or more destinationclient devices comprises transmitting the input string and at least onefallback data object of the one or more fallback data objects to the oneor more destination client devices.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, from the source client device associated with thecommunication system, a second input string; and in response to a seconddetermination that the second input string is associated with auniversal format of the one or more universal formats, transmitting thesecond input string to the one or more destination client deviceswithout performing a second format modification to the second inputstring.
 9. A communication system comprising: one or more processors;and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe communication system to perform operations comprising: identifyingone or more universal formats associated with the communication system;identifying one or more non-universal formats associated with thecommunication system, wherein a non-universal format of the one or morenon-universal formats includes a format that does not satisfy a usagecondition associated with a threshold number of users of thecommunication system, and wherein the usage condition comprises theformat being used at least once by the threshold number of users;receiving, from a source client device associated with the communicationsystem, an input string; in response to a determination that the inputstring is associated with the non-universal format, performing a formatmodification to the input string; and transmitting a modified inputstring to one or more destination client devices.
 10. The communicationsystem of claim 9, wherein identifying the one or more universal formatsand the one or more non-universal formats comprises, for a supportedstructured format associated with the communication system: determininga condition associated with the supported structured format; in responseto a second determination that the condition satisfies one or more firstthresholds, determining that the supported structured format is one ofthe one or more universal formats; and in response to a thirddetermination that the condition fails to satisfy one or more secondthresholds, determining that the supported structured format is one ofthe one or more non-universal formats.
 11. The communication system ofclaim 10, wherein the condition comprises at least one of: a firstnumber of users, of the communication system, that have installed thesupported structured format; a second number of users, of thecommunication system, that have used the supported structure format atleast once; or a third number of users, of the communication system,that have used the supported structure format on a frequent basis. 12.The communication system of claim 9, wherein performing the formatmodification to the input string comprises generating one or morefallback data objects for the input string, wherein an individualfallback data object of the one or more fallback data objects includescontent data associated with the input string formatted in accordancewith a universal format of the one or more universal formats.
 13. Thecommunication system of claim 12, wherein transmitting the modifiedinput string to the one or more destination client devices comprisestransmitting the input string and at least one fallback data object ofthe one or more fallback data objects to the one or more destinationclient devices.
 14. The communication system of claim 9, the operationsfurther comprising: receiving, from the source client device associatedwith the communication system, a second input string; and in response toa second determination that the second input string is associated with auniversal format of the one or more universal formats, transmitting thesecond input string to the one or more destination client deviceswithout performing a second format modification to the second inputstring.
 15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause acommunication system to perform operations comprising: identifying oneor more universal formats associated with the communication system;identifying one or more non-universal formats associated with thecommunication system, wherein, a non-universal format of the one or morenon-universal formats includes a format that does not satisfy a usagecondition associated with a threshold number of users of thecommunication system, and wherein the usage condition comprises theformat being used at least once by the threshold number of users;receiving, from a source client device associated with the communicationsystem, an input string; in response to a determination that the inputstring is associated with the non-universal format, performing a formatmodification to the input string; and transmitting a modified inputstring to one or more destination client devices.
 16. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein identifyingthe one or more universal formats and the one or more non-universalformats comprises, for a supported structured format associated with thecommunication system: determining a condition associated with thesupported structured format; in response to a second determination thatthe condition satisfies one or more first thresholds, determining thatthe supported structured format is one of the one or more universalformats; and in response to a third determination that the conditionfails to satisfy one or more second thresholds, determining that thesupported structured format is one of the one or more non-universalformats.
 17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 16, wherein the condition comprises at least one of: a firstnumber of users, of the communication system, that have installed thesupported structured format; a second number of users, of thecommunication system, that have used the supported structure format atleast once; or a third number of users, of the communication system,that have used the supported structure format on a frequent basis. 18.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15,wherein performing the format modification to the input string comprisesgenerating one or more fallback data objects for the input string,wherein an individual fallback data object of the one or more fallbackdata objects includes content data associated with the input stringformatted in accordance with a universal format of the one or moreuniversal formats.
 19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia of claim 18, wherein transmitting the modified input string to theone or more destination client devices comprises transmitting the inputstring and at least one fallback data object of the one or more fallbackdata objects to the one or more destination client devices.
 20. The oneor more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, theoperations further comprising: receiving, from the source client deviceassociated with the communication system, second input string; and inresponse to a second determination that the second input string isassociated with a universal format of the one or more universal formats,transmitting the second input string to the one or more destinationclient devices without performing a second format modification to thesecond input string.